


Girls In Bikinis

by kiraisstillhere



Series: AFTG Summer 2020 [5]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Summer 2020, F/F, Girls in Love, Minor Kevin Day/Aaron Minyard, Minor Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Rollerblades & Rollerskates, Summer, Summer Vacation, aftg summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25829416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiraisstillhere/pseuds/kiraisstillhere
Summary: “Are you lost?”“Oh,” Allison said with a stumble. “No, no I’m not. I just come here sometimes.” A lot of the time. To watch for the sunshine girl who won’t come back. To watch a rainbow girl who does.--Allison meets a girl who skates like the world is meant to watch her.
Relationships: Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game)
Series: AFTG Summer 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863595
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: AFTG Summer 2020





	Girls In Bikinis

**Author's Note:**

> for AFTG Summer 2020! August 9th/Day Seven: Rollerskates
> 
> once again, thank you so, so much to [andre](https://twitter.com/chbvnny/) for organizing this!!
> 
> thank you to quills for beta reading!!
> 
> title is from [girls in bikinis](https://open.spotify.com/track/5FXn5JHL50tDPMITGun9zh?si=6x65er6cRiaNRtn8qkN27A) by poppy

Rollerskating on the beach.

Allison had always wanted to try it, since she was a little kid on vacation with her parents, watching the pretty girls dancing to relaxing music in their high-waisted shorts and neon bikini tops. They’d always looked so magical, like they were meant to be beings from some far-off kingdom, rather than dancers next to the ocean. They always seemed as bright as the sun, carefree as they held their arms out to accept the light they were given.

When Allison was ten, one of the sunshine girls had smiled at her. She had glossy lips, ones that looked like the gossamer on fairy wings, and a bubblegum pink bikini top with thin straps that tied into bows around her neck and back. Her hair, wavy from the salt in the air, had been pulled into two loose braids, and her acid-washed cutoffs showed long legs that ended in rollerskates as bright as the pink top that she was wearing.

She’d skated over to Allison, sitting in her own pink swimsuit, waiting for her parents to come back from whatever meeting they were having. Their hotel was up against the beach, only a stone’s throw from the little shops and local artists that set up on the sidewalk at the edge of the sand. Allison had been told to “go be busy” while her parents disappeared behind the elevator doors. In moments, Allison had disappeared herself, gone to watch the girls that danced like nothing mattered.

“Are you lost?” She’d asked, genuine concern in her eyes as she sat down on the stone bench next to Allison.

A shake of the head was all Allison could think to do at the time. She couldn’t find the words she wanted to say, unknowingly overwhelmed by the girl who sat next to her. Allison watched in curiosity as she rolled the wheels of her skates on the concrete, mimicking the swing of Allison’s legs.

“You like them?” 

Allison tilted her head to look at the older girl.

“I have a few pairs at home, but these are my favorites. I like that they match my top.”

Words simply would not come to Allison’s mouth. She wanted to say  _ yes, they’re cute _ or tell the girl in front of her that the pink was a good color choice, but she couldn’t. So, she nodded, and felt her eyes going wide as the girl threw her head back and laughed, free as the seagulls squawking in the sky above them.

They spent the day together. Allison knew that she should be afraid of strangers, should have said no when she asked if she wanted shaved ice from one of the vendors, should have turned and walked away when the girl took her hands in her own and stretched them wide, telling Allison to greet the sun the way it greeted the world. When the sun dipped low in the sky, the girl asked Allison where she was supposed to be, and Allison pointed to the hotel’s lurking figure, and then got into the white Jeep with no roof with her new friend - a sister that she never had, perhaps - and was driven to the front doors. There were a lot of  _ shoulds _ that Allison ignored that day. Before letting her out, the pretty girl pressed a tube of shimmering lip gloss into Allison’s palm, curling her fingers over it.

“It’s cotton candy flavored,” she’d said with that same sunny smile. “It’s my favorite.”

Allison climbed out of the car in a daze and gave one last slow wave to the girl, holding the lip gloss tight in her palm. And then, Allison’s bubblegum dream drove away into the setting sun.

Later, Allison would call this moment her realization.

Allison remembered it now, saw that moment in her mind’s eye as the rainbow girl skated over to her with a smile that reminded Allison of summer mornings, when the sun was just cresting over the dew left behind in the night. The water caught the light just right, little prisms casting a soft haze of colors over everything it touched.

“Are you lost?”

Her voice was a soft as her smile, and she sat down the stone bench next to Allison. There was that genuine concern again, just like the girl in her memories. In front of her, the girl was Asian - Taiwanese, maybe, if Allison remembered from her various trips over the years. Her hair was white, with the ends dyed in a multitude of pastel colors. Allison had been watching the rainbow-haired girl as she danced on her roller skates, gliding across the sidewalk like the laws of physics simply didn’t apply to her.

“Oh,” Allison said with a stumble. “No, no I’m not. I just come here sometimes.”  _ A lot of the time. To watch for the sunshine girl who won’t come back. To watch a rainbow girl who does. _

“I’m Renee,” the girl offered. “I’ve seen you here a lot lately, did you just move?”

Allison shook her head. “I’m Allison. And, um, no, I’m just visiting for a while. My family owns the hotel down the street and I needed a break from school, you know?”

Renee threw her head back and laughed - and god, it was a beautiful laugh - and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Allison noticed that she had her ears pierced, a single lobe and two helixes.

“I get it, totally. That’s why I come out here,” Renee said, casting her arms out at the sand and water and the world laid before them. “It’s relaxing, you know? And a good place to hang out with my friends.”

Allison was too tall to kick her legs on the bench now, but Renee rolled her skates on the ground as she sat, smiling at the sun. They were yellow, bright like her personality, and contrasted with Allison’s own pink sandals. 

Allison had become the bubblegum girl that she had missed so dearly. Now, with Renee next to her, she realized that her outfit was nearly identical to the sunshine girl: a pink bikini top, the wide straps tied around her neck in a bow, with a triangle top that hooked around her back. High-waisted denim shorts, though this pair were bleach-washed washed black, and braids that pulled her blonde hair away from her face.

Renee’s outfit was not unlike the other outfits Allison had seen her in before.

Fuck, that made her sound like a stalker.

What she meant was that Renee was a rainbow in every way, from her hair to her color pops of clothes that she wore every time Allison saw her. Today, it was grass green shorts and a sky blue bikini top that looked a lot like a sports bra. Allison would have to ask Renee if it was actually a bikini later. It made sense, she supposed, to have a sturdy top. Renee was always moving, it certainly would help to keep everything in place.

“Hey,” Renee said suddenly, like a lightbulb had just popped on above her head. “Do you want to meet my friends? You never seem to have anyone with you when you’re here.”

Allison didn’t have to be told twice to take an opportunity that had been dropped into her lap. “Yeah, sure!” She said, nodding enthusiastically. “I’d love to!”

“Great!” Renee stood up, and Allison marveled at how she managed to stay still on the skates. She held her hand out for Allison to hold.

They held hands as Renee skated easily through the few people that cluttered the concrete at the edge of the sand. Allison was so lost in thought that she didn’t realize that they had made it to Renee’s group until the hand in hers squeezed. Allison looked up to see an interesting mix of people, with no other girl in sight.

A set of blond twins with judgemental eyes scanned her up and down, both wearing equally dark outfits. They contrasted heavily with Renee, from their heavyset glares to the black shoes on their feet. One sported a pair of thick-soled combat boots, and the other, black sneakers. They were both standing with whom Allison assumed were two equally judgemental boyfriends, though their counterparts at least dressed a bit more like they  _ wanted _ to be at the beach. One with black hair stood much taller over his angry blond, and what looked like a tattoo on his left cheekbone. The other had red hair and shocking blue eyes, sparking with mischief, even in the midday sunshine.

Allison felt her heart thumping in her chest, and her thoughts began to race. What were they thinking? What was  _ she _ thinking? She shouldn’t have taken Renee’s hand. Why did she ignore yet another  _ should _ ?

The redhead spoke first.

He leaned forward, like he was trying to read something just from her body language. Allison saw scars across his face as he studied her. “Who’s this?”

Of course they wouldn't know who she was. She’d only just learned Renee’s name a few minutes ago, obviously the rest of Renee’s friends wouldn’t know the random stranger that she’d brought to them.

“Her name is Allison!” Renee said brightly. “She was sitting alone, and we got to talking, and I thought she might like to meet some new people.”

Renee spun in her skates to face Allison, before motioning to the group in front of them. “The twins are Andrew and Aaron, Tall and Brooding is Kevin, and the one who asked about you is Neil!” Allison felt her nerves melt away at the joy on Renee’s face. She was se excited to have Allison with her, and suddenly, it didn’t matter if the boys didn’t like her.

It didn’t matter because Renee was with her,  _ still _ holding her hand as she bounced excitedly in her skates. Allison felt like she was in a dream. She had to be, with the way that the girl _ of _ her dreams was at her side; with a sky that looked like a painting overhead, and vendors that looked like characters straight out of a storybook making sales next to them.

One of the twins looked over Allison once more, apparently deciding that she was allowed within his friends. “I want ice cream,” he announced.

Neil snorted and elbowed the blond in the side. “You always want ice cream,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

“It’s  _ good _ ,” he - Andrew? - huffed.

“It’s not good _ for _ you,” Kevin said quickly. His voice was lower than Allison had expected.

Andrew - it  _ had _ to be Andrew, he just looked the part, with the combat boots and black shorts - snorted and turned on his heel, walking toward the shop down the road. Allison had been there a few times while she stayed at the hotel, but only to take her cup back to the hotel room and eat while she watched something online. Renee tugged on her hand, and Allison guessed that Andrew’s dismissal of Kevin was their cue to follow.

The day was spent being in awe of Renee. The girl who danced like no one was watching when everyone was watching. Who scrunched up her nose and giggled when Allison told her that she’d gotten ice cream on it before wiping it away with a napkin. She wore her rollerskates the entire day, sailing from place to place as she waved hello to everyone she met, and flowing as she danced with Allison at the center of her routine.

The day was dedicated to a pretty girl in pretty colors who took Allison’s breath away as she held her hand and wove through the afternoon crowd of people to find her favorite vendor in the marketplace. The man at the little booth had buckets of flowers hanging from the top of his stall, and still more overflowing from their planters and into the paths of unaware passerby.

He brightened when he saw Renee. She seemed to have that effect on people.

“What would you like today, Miss Renee?” He asked, though he was already shuffling around through the flowers at his feet.

“Something that matches our outfits, if you can,” Renee said sweetly, motioning between herself and Allison.

“Sounds like something I can do - aha!” Allison jumped a little at his sudden outburst.

The man had a huge smile on his face as he handed Renee two flowers - one pink, one yellow - and she handed him some cash. Allison didn’t see how much it cost, and bunched her fists anxiously for a moment, hoping it wasn’t too much.

“Come on,” Renee said happily, motioning Allison away. It was a miracle in Allison’s mind that Renee had managed to stay in her skates all day.

She hadn’t even noticed that they’d looped around until Renee pointed to the stone bench from the afternoon with a little bounce. Their first meeting felt so far away now, blended with memories of Renee dancing around her, taking Allison’s hand and spinning her with a flourish to some slow remix of a song that Allison would never be able to name.

They sat down, and Renee held out the yellow flower. “May I?”

“Be my guest,” Allison said. 

She felt the nerves pounding and excitement bubbling in her chest as Renee reached over to Allison and tucked the flower behind her ear, carefully moving stray hairs to make sure the stem got the best fit. Her fingers were soft, just like the rest of her. Allison felt the gentleness from her head to her toes as Renee sat back to admire her handiwork.

Before Allison could even offer her assistance, Renee had the pink flower behind her own ear, and Allison couldn’t help but gasp at the sight. Every color blended so perfectly; there was no doubt that Renee had experimented with colors until she found the perfect ratio for everything that she wore. The green and the blue of her top and bottoms were balanced out by the bright yellow rollerskates, and the pink flower against her white hair was the perfect splash of color to tie it all together.

Allison had been told by her father once that you had to take what you wanted in life by the neck. His advice had been met with a shocked gasp from her mother, followed by a quick explanation to tell her that it meant she shouldn’t give up a positive thing when it presents itself. Allison took her father’s advice now, and let out a breath.

“Can I kiss you?”

Renee tilted her head for a moment, and Allison was terrified that she had fucked up. What if She thought that Allison was coming on too strong? What if she was straight? What if Allison had read their entire day wrong and Renee really did just want to be friends?

“I would enjoy that,” Renee answered, as kind and caring as ever. “Quite a lot, actually.”

Allison felt her eyes go wide, but did what she had been taught. So she leaned forward, and looked into Renee’s eyes, silently asking one last time. Renee seemed to say  _ yes, you can, you’re safe and I am ready _ . And then, Allison kissed her.

It was soft and gentle, like Renee. It was an explosion of colors, just like Renee. It was everything that Allison had hoped for from the moment that she saw those yellow skates gliding across the concrete, and nothing that she had expected. When they pulled away, Renee still had her smile.

Her tongue darted out and licked at her lips. “You taste like bubblegum.”

“Cotton candy, actually,” Allison said, still mentally coming back from the kiss. It was everything she’d wanted, and more than she’d dreamed.

“I’ll see you here tomorrow?” Renee asked, reaching over to Allison’s lap and squeezing her hands again. Renee’s brows were raised and her eyes were searching, waiting for an answer.

Allison took a breath. How lucky was she, that all these years looking for the sun had lead her to the most beautiful rainbow she’d ever seen?

“Yes,” Allison said with a smile so wide that her cheeks hurt. She squeezed Renee’s hands back. “Absolutely.”

**Author's Note:**

> come yell with me about aftg on [twitter](https://twitter.com/cybbetta) and [tumblr](https://www.alvarezforthegame.tumblr.com)


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